His Little Girl
by TombstoneGirl
Summary: After Rizzo's unexpected death, Kenickie has very little time to figure out how to be a full time father to his young daughter. RnR!
1. Surprises and Tears

****

**_Surprises and Tears_**

****

Kenickie Conaway drew the comb once again through his grease-slicked hair. To say he was procrastinating was indeed the understatement; he guessed he'd pulled that comb through every inch of his hair at least twenty times already. Quickly he shoved the comb deep into his jeans pocket and withdrew his hand, only this time between his fingers a cigarette had appeared.

Using his flaming lighter that his other hand had withdrawn from his T-Birds jacket, he lit it and proceeded to smoke the cigarette for as long as he could. At that point, he would do anything to keep himself from having to go in that place.

Unfortunately for Kenickie, today was definitely not a good day.

Just as he had reached about the half waypoint on the cigarette, an oh-so-familiar car pulled into the parking lot. Only one person he knew had a transparent hood...

"Kenickie!"

The voice wasn't very happy, more so loud so the man who had abruptly turned his back on him could hear his call.

Very slowly Kenickie turned back around, and was greeted with the sight of his best friend, Danny Zuko.

"Hey." he greeted, less then pleased, for he knew one thing; if Danny was there, he would be going into the building sooner than he had hoped.

"Man, I'm sorry. This is just so...wow."

"Ya."

Silence enveloped before a soft tap fell on Kenickie's shoulder and he twisted his head to view the mystery tapper. He didn't really need to turn to know who it was; only one other person would be with Danny.

"Hey, Sandy." he greeted, his voice quite monotone.

"I'm so sorry Kenickie..." she began, her Australian accent strong as ever, "we came as soon as we heard."

After leaving Rydell, Danny and Sandy had found themselves on the beaches of Florida, rekindling that one summer in Australia. He was surprised they'd gotten there so quickly.

Kenickie merely nodded and turned back to Danny, who wore the most pitying expression on his face.

"Who's all here?"

"Everyone."

"Have you been in there yet?"

Kenickie sadly shook his head and stared down at the ground.

"Well then, let's go."

_Damn it_.

Trudging behind, Kenickie followed Danny and Sandy up the steps. 1-2-3-4-5 of them.

He barely noticed Sandy's hand on his back as she guided him through the door Danny held open. This was it. There was no turning back...

The cold air in the funeral parlor froze him to the bone and he shoved his hands into his pockets. Why did they keep these damn places like iceboxes?

"Over hear, Danny." Sandy called as she pointed to a simply sign with an arrow pointing right. Kenickie glanced up at it before glaring at the floor once again. He just couldn't take this.

Immediately after he'd entered the room, people surrounded him, patted his shoulders gently, said kind things that he didn't even hear. He hated it. Every single minute of this living hell. Why did Danny have to bring him in here?

"Kenickie!"

He immediately recognized Frenchy's nazily voice, and half looked up to see her hair color of the month. Pink. Again?

"We can't find her!" her voice was urgent, making him pull his eyes from her hair.

"Find who?" he asked. Then he noticed the whole gang standing behind her, their faces twisted in fear. Jan, Marty, Sonny, Putzie, and Doody, all of them. What was going on?

"Carley, we can't find her!"

Kenickie's blood ran cold. _Carley_? She was _here_?

"Why is she here?" he hissed, leaning close to Frenchy as he said it. She immediately gulped.

"W-we didn't know where else to take her."

Kenickie sighed and rubbed his eyes. This was not good.

"All of you go look for her! Now!"

"But Kenickie," this time Marty stepped and placed a gently hand on his arm. "she needs her dad."

"I said go look for her, and when you find her, tell me. Don't do anything, just tell me."

Marty nodded sharply and immediately the gang headed off in different directions; they all knew not to get Kenickie angry...

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Danny cried, grabbing his friend's shoulders and spinning him around to face him, his one eyebrow cocked. "who is Carley?"

Kenickie sighed heavily. That was right...Danny and Sandy didn't know...yet.

"Carley is...well..."

"Say it Kenick."

"Me and Rizzo's kid, ok?"

"But I thought she wasn't pregnant?" Sandy piped in, her mouth slightly agape.

"She lied."

"Why didn't you tell me? I'm you're best friend!" Danny cut in angrily before Sandy could ask another question.

"I know...but..."

"Kenickie! We found her!" Sonny cried, a wave of relief gliding over Kenickie, who had already began to claw at excuses as to why he hadn't told Danny. To be honest, he didn't know why himself.

"Where is she?"

"Other room, hiding behind the stand they put the caskets on."

Slowly Kenickie nodded and pushed through the gang without another word. This was definitely not going to be good...

Sure enough, there she was, all curled up in a ball, dark blonde hair falling over her shoulders. Kenickie felt horrible as he saw the way her tiny frame shook.

"Hey...come on kid."

At the sound of his voice, the girl's head shot up revealing two rivers of tears that streamed down her face.

"Daddy!" she cried, flinging herself onto him and latching onto his neck, holding on to him as though her little life depended on it. Gently her father wrapped his arms around her and sat down against the wall, shushing gently into her matted hair.

"Calm down, Car, it's gonna be okay."

The little girl continued to shake, cry, and hiccup, pretty much at the same time.

"N-n-no it won't! M-ma-mama's d-de-dead!"

Those simple words cut through the young father like nothing before in his whole life. His little girl understood completely, while he himself was still somewhat in denial...

"Ya, that's...true. But it will be okay, kid. I promise."

The girl looked up at him with those tear-glazed orbs, and as usual, Kenickie lost every bit of control he had.

"You, you promise?" she whispered.

"Ya, I promise."

She nodded and placed her head back on his chest, the hiccups still coming on strong and her crying replaced by sniffling.

Kenickie let his head flop back against the wall as he shut his eyes. He really hoped everything would be okay.

Oh how he hoped...

**_Hello all! Well...to explain this little..ehm...mess...I was flipping through the channels at one o'clock in the morning and what movie happened to be on? Grease! So, my sleepy mind began turning, and viola! Hope you all like it, please read/review, I just love reviews :) But please...no flames! _**


	2. The Beginning Of A New

**His Little Girl**

**Chapter 2**

**The Beginning Of A New**

After calming Carley down slightly (or at least the best he could) Kenickie quietly carried her into the funeral parlor where everyone was getting seated for the service. Even though it was traditional for family to sit near the front, he chose to keep Carley near the back, knowing the sight of all these people that she didn't know frightened her.

Just as he sat down, the gang rose and surrounded him, all of them eyeing Carley with pity, who hid her face in Kenickie's neck. Danny, who was at his right, looked her over with a solemn face and nodded to his friend; he forgave him.

The preacher's words were short, sweet, and to the point, mainly because he'd never gotten to know Rizzo from her spotty mass attendance record. Though everyone had to admit, with his limited knowledge, he did pretty damn good.

When the preacher concluded, the funeral director summoned the Paul bearers and Kenickie, being one, slid Carley into Frenchy's awaiting arms, which as soon as she got her began whispering to her, telling her everything was going to be okay.

As everyone went to their cars for the procession, Kenickie, Putzy, Doodie, Sonny, Danny, and Rizzo's cousin Brendon, dawned the white gloves and carefully picked up the casket. Kenickie's stomach lurched as he placed it upon his shoulder, realizing that this would be the closest he'd ever be to her again, and the only piece he had left of her was their seven-year-old daughter. He sighed to himself and surprisingly felt a hand on his shoulder. He could tell it was Danny.

After the casket was placed in the hearse, Kenickie went to his car where he found Frenchy and Carley waiting for him. He gently tousled his daughter's hair as he got in and she smiled at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

The funeral procession was slow and unbearable. Kenickie knew this would be the last time he'd ever "see" Rizz again, and it pained him to think they were just going to put her six feet under and that would end it. _No_, he thought, _that was just the beginning_.

His heart pounded as they pulled into the cemetery and the procession slowed to a halt. He swallowed desperately as the assistant came and plucked the flag from the hood and he grimaced at the thought that for the funeral owners, their days would go on as if nothing had happened.

As the gang stood around the casket as it was placed near the newly dug hole, the preacher said a few last words and everyone was left to say their goodbyes.

"Bye mama." Carley whispered into Kenickie's chest and he felt the tears prick his eyes once again. He too sent a farewell to the love of his life, and took Carley away from the cemetery, knowing full well that it would kill her to watch her mother be buried.

Honestly, he didn't know if he could take it, either.

As Kenickie drove Carley back home he began thinking about his new beginning. He and Rizzo had never been married (she always said marriage was pointless) but they both shared an apartment. Rizzo had made sure Carley carried his last name, and for that he was grateful. He sent a glance over to her and sighed when he saw her head leaning against the glass window, her eyes starting to close.

"You tired, kid?"

"Mhm" she mumbled, her head moving with the jostling of the car. He gave her a sad smile and patted the middle seat.

"C'mere, you can lean on me."

She nodded and scooted over beside him and set her head on him. Within minutes he could feel her body loose all it's tension as she slumped against him, sleep finally overtaking her.

He pulled into the apartment parking lot and quietly picked Carley up and carried her inside, where he tried not to make eye contact with any of the people. They all knew, and of course they would want to comfort.

Kenickie rushed into the elevator and pressed the '5' button before leaning against the back corner, his daughter dozing on his chest. He hoped that no one would get on with them; he was not in the mood for twenty questions.

But...of course, life, like always, likes to throw a monkey wrench into _everything_.

Mrs. Blooms, one of those old women with the snow-white hair and the love of good gossip, strode into the elevator, pressing the 4 and walking over to stand beside Kenickie.

"Oh, the poor dear," she cooed, peering inquisitively over his shoulder to look at Carley, "she must be exhausted after the funeral."

"Yeah." he murmured, subconsciously rubbing Carley's back.

"And you, too. Do you need anything? If you want I could bring over dinner sometime?"

"Thanks but no thanks." he replied, hoping the elevator would hurry up.

"If I may, what did happen to Betty?"

Kenickie felt the world stop as he let her words sink in. _What did happen to Betty..._ He grimaced, hating to even recall it. He just wanted to put it behind him and his daughter, to move on, why did people always have to ask this?!

"She had a heart attack." he said, barely above a whisper. Mrs. Blooms leaned in to hear him.

"A heart attack, my word she was so young!"

"She was 25..." he mentioned, a shadow of gloom falling over him.

Suddenly the elevator "dinged" and Mrs. Blooms turned to leave, but not before she turned back to the young father.

"If you need anything, I'll be glad to help you with your little girl."

He nodded and the doors shut, leaving the two alone again.

It felt odd, opening the door and knowing Rizzo wasn't going to be in there, yet every fiber of his being screamed she was in there, that she would be cooking something while smoking a cigarette and listening to John Crown on 99.2. But as he walked in, he realized that she really was gone.

He carefully set Carley down on the couch and covered her with the blanket Rizzo's mom had made for the young girl. Being that it was only five o'clock, he knew she would be getting hungry, and to say anything so was he.

Kenickie wandered into the kitchen and looked around in confusion.

Rizzo had always done the cooking. He didn't even know where the dishes were...

Trying to be quiet, Kenickie began opening to cabinet doors, looking at how Rizzo had stacked everything haphazardly in the small spaces. Pots were filled with other small cooking utensils, a colander was hanging from a hook, there was a sauté pan covering the entire back of the cabinet, and a dishtowel was jammed in the corner. Carefully he reached out and picked it up, rubbing it between his fingers.

"Daddy?"

Kenickie jumped and spun around, finding Carley standing before him with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Ya kid?"

"What are you looking for?"

Kenickie stopped. What _was _he looking for?

"I don't know...something to cook you dinner with I guess."

She nodded and quietly walked past him to the corner, where she opened a cabinet door and pulled out a jar of peanut butter.

"I can do it, mama taught me how to make a peanut butter sandwich. I'll make you one too daddy."

Kenickie, still crouched down, watched as his daughter began plucking things from the cabinets, knowing exactly where each item would be in the "organized chaos".

Carefully she spread the peanut butter onto the slices of bread she'd found and slapped them together. Kenickie slid into a sitting position on the floor as she came over, a dish in each hand.

Carley sat down beside her father and handed him the plate, which he took without a word. She began eating her sandwich, watching out of the corner of her eye to see if her dad would do the same.

Kenickie smirked and breathed out sharply through his nose before grabbing the sandwich and eating it. He let a real smile tug at his lips when he saw the overjoyed look his daughter gave him.

When they were done, Carley set the plates in the sink and with a little help from Kenickie, washed them and put them away.

"Can we watched the tele daddy?" she asked, grabbing his hand and leading him over to the couch.

"Sure." he replied, sitting down obediently as she ran to turn on the tube before climbing into his lap.

They watched the local news channel, Carley listening to each word the reporters said with great interest. Kenickie, noticing her odd behavior, couldn't help but ask.

"Hey kid?"

She turned around in his lap to look at him.

"Why are you watching them like that?"

Carley smiled before turning back around and leaning on Kenickie's chest.

"Cause I wanna be a news reporter when I grow up."

The young father sat there a moment, suddenly ashamed of himself.

His daughter was seven years old, _seven_, and he had no clue what her favorite color was, what she wanted to be, who her friends were, he knew nothing! That had always been Rizzo. And now, it was him. Kenickie had spent the last seven years underneath countless cars and in the garage until all hours of the night before coming home. It pained him to think that today was probably the most time he'd spent with his daughter at one time...

"Daddy?"

He jumped out of his moment of self-hatred to look down at his daughter.

"What are we gonna do tomorrow?" she asked innocently, and he pondered the thought a moment.

"What do you wanna do?"

"Go see mama." she said immediately, and Kenickie turned quickly to hide the tears that sprung into his eyes. He would not cry.

"If you want...I'm sure we could..." he trailed off, caught off guard by her request. He'd never thought in a million years that would be what she wanted to do.

"Thanks Daddy."

"You're welcome kid."

* * *

_There we go, chapter two! Hope you all like it, thank you so much for your awesome reviews! _


	3. The Magic Of A Puppy

**The Magic Of A Puppy**

Just as he had promised, Kenickie took Carley to the cemetery to visit Rizzo. The grave, still with fresh dirt on it, was covered in flowers of every shape, color, and fragrance. The young father watched as his daughter sat among them, and he was sure she was the prettiest one.

"You think mama likes all the flowers?" she asked him innocently, and he thought for a moment. "I think she does."

Carley sniffed before standing up to join her father.

"I bet she doesn't, mama always said flowers looked pretty for a little while and then they just got old and ugly, kinda like cheerleaders!"

Kenickie couldn't help but laugh. Yes, that was definably one of Rizzo's famous lines.

After their visit, Kenickie drove Carley to Marty's house. She'd insisted that the girl needed to spend some time with her "aunts". He hadn't been too sure; he figured the one person she should be with was her father. Maybe the Pink Ladies didn't think that he was fit to take care of her...

The sun reflected off the hood of his car as he drove around town. He felt very lonely without his daughter in the passenger seat. He sighed, being a single parent was not going to be easy, especially when he had to return to work the following week. Then what was he going to do? Carley didn't start 3rd grade for another month, which meant he'd have to leave her in the care of Marty, Jan, or Frenchy. He winced, imagining his girl coming home with bright purple hair.

And it was about this time that Kenickie passed a shop he had never noticed before.

A pet shop.

Quickly, he swerved into an open parking space and jumped over the door without even opening it. He absent-mindedly shoved a dime into the meter and walked up to the display window.

A large litter of puppies, all different breeds, were jumping around; playing, biting, and barking. He smiled to himself. He bet Carley would love one...

-Ten Minutes Later-

Kenickie walked proudly out of the store with his brand new puppy. The dog, pure brown with a tail that could beat you to death, was pulling on the leash excitedly; her pink tongue flopped out of her mouth.

This would definably bring a smile to his daughter's face.

After loading the new member of the family into his car, her drove home and set everything up; the food and water dishes he'd bought and the bag of food the pet shop had given him. The puppy was more than happy, running around the house and begging Kenickie for a pat on the head. He smirked. Carley would love her.

About an hour later, a knock resounded off the door and Kenickie jumped to answer it, sending a smile to the puppy dozing on the carpet.

"Daddy!" Carley cried, jumping into his awaiting arms. He smirked. She acted as tho she hadn't seen him in years. Marty stood behind her, hands on her hips and a slight smile on her face. Kenickie waved her in.

"Guess what, kiddo? I got a surprise for you."

Carley's eyes sparkled as she looked up to her father. He could see the excitement building up in her, and he gently pushed her into the living room.

"A puppy!" she squealed, trotting over to the now awake dog. As soon as her knees hit the ground the dog tackled her, licking her face. Carley giggled and pushed herself upright, scratching the dog behind her ears.

Kenickie and Marty watched in interest as Carley and the puppy got to know each other.

"You did good, Kenick." she finally said, smiling as her 'niece' laughed like she hadn't laughed in a while.

"Why, thank you, Marty." he said, sending her a smirk. She rolled her before walking over and hugging Carley.

"I'll see ya later, kid." she said with a smile as she walked towards the door. "Bye, Kenickie."

"Later."

Kenickie stood, leaning on the doorframe, watching his daughter wrestle on the floor with the energetic little dog. He smirked. This was exactly what she needed.

"What's her name, daddy?" Carley finally asked, after the puppy finally calmed down and now was flopped dramatically on her back, her tail swishing behind her in a constant motion.

"She doesn't have one; you can name her."

Carley sat for a long moment, pondering on what name should be given to her new puppy.

"How about...Calypso?"

Kenickie did a double take. _Calypso?_ Where in the world had she heard a name like that?

"Sure, but where did you hear that name?"

Quickly, Carley jumped up and trotted to her room, the puppy right on her heels. Kenickie remained where she was until she drug out a rather large book. His eyebrows did a push-up. He didn't remember that book.

The girl sat down on the couch and patted the seat beside her for her father to sit in. He did so, and watched as she turned the pages, which he noticed, where covered with colorful pictures.

"Here!" she finally cried, having reached the chapter that she was looking for.

Written on the left page was, indeed, Calypso, in big letters. Underneath it was a couple paragraphs, he guessed they were about this person. On the right was a beautiful picture of a woman, rising out of the ocean, wearing a beautiful Caribbean-blue dress.

"Calypso was the God of the sea, and since Mama always said that one day we'd go to the ocean, I figured that if I name Calypso after her, I'll never forget about wanting to go there!"

Kenickie was startled. He never knew that she wanted to go to the beach! He felt slightly hurt that Rizzo hadn't even informed him that she was interested in it. _Why hadn't she told him anything?_

Can you read me the story about Calypso, daddy?" Carley asking, noticing the far away look coming into his eye.

"Yeah...sure."

Slowly, Kenickie began reading the chapter, and by the time he had made it to the second paragraph, both Carley and Calypso were sound asleep.

* * *

"I don't know why she didn't tell me a thing, Danny! I swear I don't know anything about her! Why did Rizzo shut me out like that?" 

"I don't know, Kenick. You sure she never mentioned anything about the beach?"

Kenickie paused for a moment and thought. "No, I would have remembered that. She never mentioned it at all."

Quickly, he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Why had she left him in the dark? He didn't know a thing about his own daughter! He had no clue what she liked, what she didn't like, where she wanted to go, what she wanted to do, _nothing!_ He knew Rizzo was a "Ms. I-can-do-everything-myself-thank-you-very-much" kinda person but did she have to exclude him from Carley's life?

"Damnnit, Zuko, I don't know anything about my own kid!" Kenickie cried, his anger boiling over.

"Sure you do! Don't be so hard on yourself, you just got thrown into a rough situation, that's all."

Kenickie paused. Yeah, maybe that was it! Maybe he _did _know stuff about his daughter, but the environment in which he needed to present this knowledge was so stressful that he just couldn't remember all the little stuff!

"Maybe you're right. Hey, you sure you don't want to come and stay here? I can't imagine it's all that fun rooming with Putzie if he keeps house like he keeps his toolbox at the garage."

Danny chuckled. "Naw, it's alright. I doubt you really need a house guest right at the moment, you're probably busy as hell!"

"You'd be surprised, the Pinks seem to think Carley needs 'girl time' and they take her out almost every day and I'm stuck here by myself."

Zuko snorted into the phone. "Women; think they know everything about kids."

Kenickie chuckled. "That's right."

"Well hey, I'll see ya tomorrow, Kenick."

"Ok, later Zuk."

Kenickie growled to himself as he set down the receiver. He just couldn't keep his anger at bay anymore. Why hadn't Rizzo told him anything? Didn't she _want _him to know his own daughter? What had she been thinking?

"Daddy?"

The voice was merely a whisper but it startled Kenickie the same way a clashing cymbal would have. Startled, he inhaled sharply and jumped from the couch.

"Damnnit, kid, you scared the hell outta me!" he barked, anger seeping into his words.

At the tone of his voice Carley balked, clutching her stuffed horse to her chest and desperately retreating back into the darkened room from which she came.

Kenickie's stomach clenched horribly as he caught sight of his daughter's face before she fled. Those tears…he had caused them.

"Carley!" he cried, running after her.

As soon as he entered the room he flicked on the light switch. He bit down hard on his tongue.

Curled up in the corner of the bed was his daughter, shaking and crying just like she had been when he found her at the funeral parlor.

"Hey, kid, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you like that." He said, taking tentative steps toward her. She lifted her head and took a gulping breath.

"I-I'm sor-r-ry daddy, ma-ma-mama didn't want you to not know stuff, I k-know she didn't!" she cried, clutching onto her horse.

"Baby, calm down, it's alright. I know you're mom didn't want that." He whispered, sitting down beside her and taking her into his lap. Immediately she dropped the horse and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"My favorite color's blue, I-I wanna go to the beach, I wanna be a news-reporter, my best friend is Amy D. from down the street, I like horses and I wanna ride one. I like cars and I really wanna learn how to drive, my favorite book is the one I showed you, and someday I want you an me to go to the car show at the high school together. Please daddy, d-don't be m-mad! I'll tell you anything you wanna know, just p-please don't leave!"

Kenickie froze.

"Hun, I'm not gonna leave." He whispered gently, wrapping his arms tighter around her. "Why would you think that?"

"M-mama left and I d-don't want you to, too!" she bawled, her whole form shaking.

For one of the first times in a long time, Kenickie felt cool tears running down his face.

"B-baby I'm not going to leave you, please don't worry about that." He whispered, touching his cheek gently to hers.

That night, father and daughter stayed together, each letting the pain of their loss be voiced.

The next day, they vowed to truly start their lives over, the first step being Carley getting to steer her daddy's car for the first time.

* * *

Has it seriously been since december since I updated this? Uhhh I am so sorry I couldn't get this out sooner, but I must say I thank nick-at-nite for showing Grease, it gave me a lot of inspiration! 

Thank you for all the reviews, I really really really appreciate them!

And I promise, updates will definably be up sooner than _8 months_. That's just not cool!


End file.
